Reviewing the IC-R15 Communications Receiver

[@KarlHobson]

Thanks for a great review, well done Icom on producing this great reciver, fast scan speed, and has a brilliant Rx capability especially on Air Band Civil/Military Marine Ham and much more......I'm getting a lot of fun out of the IC-R15

[@Scotscan]

Echo the comments - had a lot of hits on the radio out mobile - the scan speed is very impressive!

[@dont4450]

Truthfully, my icom ic r6 still does an amazing job pulling in stations with a signal stick antenna. I'm in New Hampshire, USA and pick up the UK, France, Italy, Mexico, China and more.

[@markr.1984]

You're picking up ham or broadcast stations? You didn't say.

[@dont4450]

@@markr.1984 hi, broadcast, not ham.

[@pulsar9716]

Hopefully getting one before Christmas my bigger interest is what happens between 137-400mhz so it’s perfect, no keypad mite put others off but tbh I’d have it fully programed anyway.

[@davidalan2469]

I really like this and am hoping for an upgrade to the IC-R30 with the newer display.

[@LewisMacKay2899]

I’ve got an IC-R20 and I’m hoping there’ll be a new maybe IC-R40 if it’s called that similar to this IC-R15 but obviously wide receiver and all modes like the R20 and also full colour display

[@markr.1984]

Some handheld ham transceivers scan at a blistering rate. My Kenwood TH-D75 that I've had only a few months is impressive on scan speed. My Yaesu VX-6 is very sluggish. You can ready the frequencies as the scan by!!

[@michaelellard4664]

Excellent

[@Icom_UK]

Thanks

[@brianwilliams8620]

I'm sticking with my Icom IC R-30 Analogue and Digital Scanner This would be a step backwards if I purchased one

[@PeTeR_HaNsSoN67]

I love my R-30 :)

[@Kowalski301]

Well, this radio is not a replacement for R30, it's a replacement for the R20. Just look at the model number: R15 and R30, it's pretty obvious isn't it? Also, with inflation, this is basically half the cost of the R30, so expect half the functionality.

[@CPlusPlusDev]

Just curious ; if the police catch you using these radios is there a risk of being arrested?

[@dont4450]

My icom ic r6 picks up everything, shortwave included. It won't receive digital, but most digital frequencies are scrambled anyway. I'm using a signal stick whip on my r6, and I receive stations from Europe, south America, and Asia.

[@Flightlevel350]

€520.- for an analog Scanner ? No SSB, No SW, No 4M ?

[@patmeaden]

That includes the icon tax

[@gfdemt917]

I picked up a gently used r30 for less than that

[@markr.1984]

Didn't know they used 12.5 kHz frequency spacing in the UK for 2 meter ham. We use mostly 20 in the states.

[@dont4450]

Will this pick up shortwave frequencies?

[@cnick6]

No.

[@pauln4dmeedwards775]

What is the PMR BAND?

[@deepblue69uk]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMR446 - Private Mobile Radio on the 446Mhz radio band. GMRS is the equivilent in the US that's used at slightly lower frequencies.

[@ErikN1]

@@deepblue69ukI would say FRS is a closer equivalent in the US being it’s also license free and severely power limited. I wish we had something like GMRS here in Europe so we could use repeaters and higher power without having to abide by the rules of amature radio.

[@markr.1984]

@@deepblue69uk I'd say you're quite wrong about that. If your PMR frequencies really are in the 446 range, as you say, then our FRS/GMRS ones are quite a bit higher. They go from 462 up to 467!!

[@deepblue69uk]

@@markr.1984 Quite right. I mis-read.

[@arthurtwoshedsjackson6266]

Is that a Anytone BT-01 just in shot ? 😂

[@vabbes]

So the same as the ID-51, but the ID-51 is cheaper AND has D-Star😂

[@zerobow9413]

Does it to SSB DMR pDMR tetra ??? fail

[@pauln4dmeedwards775]

Looks like the icom 52

[@richardsage3139]

They couldn't even include d-star

[@romanhar4151]

Only 76,0 … 500,0 MHz, only FM, WFM, AM - The old IC-R30 was better. Sorry, I have to say that everything Icom makes new is wors than the old deviced (also IC-E92D vs ID-51) More limited receiver. I was a huge Icom fan, but changed to Yeasu.

[@gfdemt917]

Alinco has more features for way less$$$

[@martinryan5069]

Expensive no short wave ssb are you kidding me rip off get a second icr 30

[@pauln4dmeedwards775]

It's a very hard radio to use for people with disabilities

[@alan4441]

Everything on VHF/UHF these days is digital making this overpriced scanner defunct ! What were Icom thinking of with this offering ?

[@djmambito2]

Yes another review where nothing is tested in real life ... a real comms-person would want to know it's rf-behaviour in real life .. which means some real rf-measurements instead of only the menu/settings and whistles & bells ... in addition it is way to expensive anyway ... i refuse to pay double the price just because it has a Icom-label on it ... With videos like this you certainly didn't show that it is worth it since you do exactly the same as the rubbish chinese products where no-one ever does real rf-tests.

[@HubertCoudurier-wf4nj]

Have you tested it in real life ? I doubt it ! Ihave, and it is a great scanner with dual watch, dual recording and I would recommend it for the aviation enthusiast, it is perfect for this purpose, unlike the IC-R30 where half of the manual and possibilities are devoted to .... GPS ! what a waste ! just receive, scan, memorize, ... this is not a radio for the dedicated ham fanatic, but more for the people who enjoy real life in the neighbourhod of an airport...

[@djmambito2]

@@HubertCoudurier-wf4nj , no i didn't test it because i dont have one ... so i rely on what others say ... like the one who made this video ... thats why i watch videos like this ... but there is no real testing nor measurements in this video ... so it doesn't tell me anything , so it is useless and nothing else but propaganda for Icom ... which is ok ... but dont call it review.

[@richardsage3139]

Lots of stuff to listen to on am fm vhf uhf that's laughable

[@HubertCoudurier-wf4nj]

you don't seem to know these ranges of frequencies with thousands of possibilities... it would be better if you knew what you are talking about ...

[@martinryan5069]

He does know that's why he is laughing rip off

[@pauln4dmeedwards775]

No number DTMF pad, icom failed.

[@ErikN1]

Why would you need a DTMF keypad on a receiver? I agree on the ID-50 and ID-52 though. Maybe the ID-52 successor will have a touch screen with a virtual keypad? Who knows.

[@HubertCoudurier-wf4nj]

DTMF is the only criteria to test a scanning radio ? what about all the excellent features of the IC-R15 ? dual watch, dual recording, ultra fast search and scan, easy display and programming, it is an excellent choice, probably the best, for any aircraft enthusiast ! I have two IC-R30 and one IC-R15, which is more convenient and simple and dedicated to airband monitoring.. and excellent FM too. attenuator works great with an exterior antenna too.. and just watch the speed of sanning ! 160 channels per second !

[@pauln4dmeedwards775]

No touch screen, ICOM failed yet again

[@Scotscan]

what a load of rubbish comments - that's not what the radio was built for

[@darrylyoung1121]

this ain't yaesu

[@ErikN1]

I’d take a good button interface over a touch screen any day on a device like this. If it had a touch screen as an additional option but not required for operation that would be fine too, but nothing beats the tactile feedback of buttons.

[@darrylyoung1121]

@@ErikN1 +1 . same here.

[@HubertCoudurier-wf4nj]

this is quite unfair . DTMF is just a very tiny part of radio listening and only a few people are interested in that stuff...